King Shark is one of DC's more recognizable villains, although he cannot be associated with any individual hero. He's jumped around the various rogues' galleries for some time, but the character has a number of facts that fans might not know about.
Nanaue is a monstrous creature, who does have a soft side. While he's been a criminal and a villain for many years, he's also shown signs of being an anti-hero. Of course, the smell of blood really riles him up though, so its best not to get a cut around this frightening beast. There's plenty more to learn about this king of the oceans though.
10 Godly Beginning
King Shark's origins might not be quite what fans would expect. While usually monsters like King Shark have been created by some kind of science experiment that has gone awry, in this case, Nanaue's origins are quite natural.
King Shark is actually the son of a Hawaiin shark god, known as Kamo. This means in many ways King Shark is actually a demi-god, making his origin quite mystical.
9 Shark Variations
There's been a lot of different interpretations of King Shark over the years. The character has been adapted based on how each artist imagines him, rather than a canonical reason.
The traditional image of King Shark is a Great White, but there's also the very popular variation of drawing him as if he is a Hammerhead shark. These changes keep the character visually interesting.
8 Superboy's Nemesis
Believe it or not the original enemy that King Shark fought was actually Superboy. Back when he was simply eating tourists in Hawaii, King Shark drew the attention of Superboy.
The two fought for some time until Superboy was written out of DC Comics. This meant that the character had to find a new hero to fight against, settling for speedsters like the Flash and other aquatic characters like Aquaman.
7 Secret Six
The Secret Six are a powerful group of villains whose roster has changed numerous times over the years. Despite these changes, King Shark has been a pretty consistent member.
He even served on the team when there was a civil war between different factions of these criminal groups, although he did also help Lex Luthor stage an attack on a variation of the organization.
6 Early Suicide Squad
King Shark has been recognized over the years for the part he had to play in the Suicide Squad. The character was actually an early member, being manipulated into helping Amanda Waller.
It was also one of the earlier uses of the bomb policy. Since King Shark's skin is very strong, he had a bomb positioned in his belt. During his mission, it actually exploded but he managed to survive the damage.
5 Hellish Sacrifices
The former Suicide Squad member once again teamed up with a bunch of villains to try and get a get out of hell free card. Supposedly, by winning it, any villain would be able to skip their eternal torture in the underworld.
The problem was that it was in such high demand that King Shark had to make sacrifices to be victorious. He lost his arm in the ensuing battle but still ended up losing the card. Luckily, his limbs can grow back.
4 Haley's Circus
Haley's Circus might be a familiar name for DC fans, as it's a very famous traveling circus that has seen even Dick Grayson star in its lineup. It's appeared on multiple Earths and even in Flashpoint.
During Flashpoint King Shark actually appears in Haley's Circus as a strong man. Clearly tamed in some way, he's making money in a much more above-board manner, entertaining civilians.
3 King Shark's Nightmare
After he failed to win the get out of hell card King Shark finds himself in his own personal hell. The funny thing is that while his teammates were being tortured, his own nightmare didn't seem quite so bad.
Kind Shark was trapped in an incredibly fancy hotel. The only problem was that there was no meat on the menu. This probably was a bit of a problem for a carnivore like King Shark.
2 Kid Shark
In the Arkham Universe, King Shark has appeared in the comics and as part of some animated spin-offs. He's never appeared in the actual video games though.
One thing this universe does do, though, is develop the character further and give him a kid by the name of Kid Shark. His own biological son seems to be a mixture of both shark and human creating a strange aquatic creature.
1 Arrowverse Changes
The Arrowverse sees a version of King Shark come from Earth 2 and the CW plays a little on his anti-hero past. Even though the Arrowverse is only just exploring Atlantis and gods, the Arrowverse had a solution to his origins.
The character actually finds his start in life as a human, before an experiment goes wrong and turns him into a shark. At times he can transform back into being a human and can even be controlled enough to fight against Gorilla Grodd.